Of mice and a musical: a youth audience perspective on theatricalized Jiangzhou Drum Music in China

Laoshu Quqin (《老鼠娶親》) is a traditional folk narrative widely circulated across different regions of China. In 1988, Hao Shixun (郝世勛), who was then engaged in the collection of folk drum music at the Xinjiang County Cultural Center (新絳縣文化館) in Shanxi (山西) province, composed a percussion ensemble piece based on this narrative. Characterized by its humorous style and broad appeal with audiences of all ages, the piece gained widespread recognition and became one of the representative works of Jiangzhou Drum Music (絳州鼓樂). In 2019, the Chongdaoyuan Drum Music Troupe (崇道源鼓樂團) reinterpreted this piece as a musical theater production, using the innovative process of theatricalization as a strategy to engage younger audiences in a contemporary cultural context. Through an evaluation of young audiences’ perceptions of the percussion-based musical theater Laoshu Quqin, this study examines the impact of theatricalization on Jiangzhou Drum Music. Based on semi-structured interviews with ten young Chinese audience members, the study analyzes how theatricalization affects the expressiveness of Jiangzhou Drum Music and its reception among contemporary audiences. While the integration of dialog, song, and drum music bridges the gap between traditional sounds and contemporary expectations, it also poses significant challenges in balancing these elements. The findings reveal that despite these challenges, young audiences are generally receptive to innovations in performance forms. This study offers a better understanding of the attitudes of youth toward the theatricalization of musical heritage and provides reference points for the innovative development of other traditional art forms. These insights are crucial to how Chinese traditional culture is transmitted and adapted in a rapidly changing cultural landscape.

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